Monday, 12 October 2015

The Different Types of Functional Testing

Software testing is an important
part of the software development life cycle and should be done with utmost care
in order to ensure the success of the software. Functional testing is a part of
the software testing procedure which renders perfectly functioning software to
the users.

People often have the
misconception that functional testing of the software just deals with testing
the software’s functionality to check that it provides the right output when
fed with a particular input. But in reality functional testing deals with a lot
more than just testing how the software functions. Software testing is
classified into various types which are discussed in this article. These
various tests are very important to ensure software which will be equipped to
handle any kind of scenario or stress load.

Function
Based Testing:Of the various types of functional tests that can
be performed, this is probably the easiest one which is possible. It just takes
the individual modules of the software and checks if it works properly. You
check the component with various scenarios. You check it both individually and
also you test the components functionality when they are working with each
other as a whole system.

Scenario
Based Testing: This type of functional testing can be a tad bit
complex. Ultimately the software that is being developed is going to be used by
the end users. In the real world, the software will be facing scenarios which
are both simple and complex. Successful software is one which can smoothly
perform in both the situations with equal ease. It is the job of the software
tester to check the software’s functionality in such situations. The detected
defects should be reported along with the scenarios in which they were tested
so that it can be rectified.

Negative
Testing:When the software is being used by the end users, there
are numerable numbers of ways in which the users may handle the software in a
wrong way. Negative testing checks the functionality of the software in such
negative situations. These tests check how well the software handles these
negative situations. The negative testing also ensures that no permanent damage
or loss of data occurs when the software is going through the negative
situations.

Long
Range Testing:Long range testing checks the software for
prolonged working period. There are situations in which the software may have
to be up and working for a long period of time. In such situations, chances are
that the software may crash due to the long working periods. Long period
testing ensures that the software keeps running with similar ease for the
entire period of time. It also detects the flaws that may appear in the
software for the long working periods i.e. due to over loading. The
functionality of the software in situations like long file processing is
checked in long range testing.

Yes! We accept that some of the
tests which are mentioned under the category of fictional testing may appear to
be similar and overlapping. However each of the tests are important for the
detection of the defects that may appear on the functional front of the
software and must be performed for delivering a quality product to the
customers or end users.